Chapter Text
Ladybug took a deep breath in an attempt to ease her nerves. Moments ago, she had requested she and Chat take a break in the middle of their nightly patrol to discuss something important. Here on the rooftops overlooking Paris, their relationship would change for good. He met her nervous gaze with expectant green eyes. From Chat's expression, he thought the polka-dotted heroine standing before him was going to admit to returning his feelings. Ladybug felt horrible that she was about to burst his bubble.
"Chat," she carefully weighed her words, trying to make them sting less than she already knew they would. "It's never going to happen between us. You know that right?"
The last week or so, she had noticed his feelings for her were growing at an exponential rate. His once playful flirtations began taking on a more serious tone, and she caught him sneaking glances at her more and more frequently. Perhaps she'd led him on by blushing when he called her beautiful or by becoming complacent about his advances. Sometimes she even enjoyed his attention. Even so, Ladybug would never truly see him in that way, and he was wasting his time. The longer she let this continue, the more it would hurt him in the long run.
At least, that's what she told herself. She wasn't sure she believed this was a good decision now that Chat's face was slowly contorting into a mix of shock and dispair. He tried to argue. "I know you want to keep things strictly business, but I really like you, and I honestly think maybe someday---"
She cut him off with a wave of her hand. She wouldn't be swayed. "No, Chat. I can't watch you keep doing this to yourself. I have someone I like. I'm unavailable." She'd do anything to not see the look on his face right now."You're a great guy. I'm sure lots of girls would date you. You could probably have literally anybody else. Have you considered dating one of your fans?"
Chat blinked twice before composing himself. He seemed to have decided he was going to toy with her, perhaps believing her reactions to his proximity belied feelings she refused to admit to herself. He began circling her like a predator, tail caressing her thighs. "So, who is this mystery guy, huh? The one you like." He leaned toward her as he practically purred the words. "I'm curious."
With his amused face so close, Ladybug forgot how to breathe for a moment. He knew he could illicit this kind of reaction from her without fail. Ladybug wasn't used to this kind of attention, and the fact that he was making her heart race again irritated her. She wasn't going to feel guilty anymore if he was going to act like this. Chat knew how to get under her skin in the worst way. Her words aimed to injure.
"He's smart, polite, and does well at school." She gave him a pointed look. "He's nothing like you. He even speaks multiple languages."
He made a thoughtful face before lamenting, "啊? 大姐喜欢会将很多语源的男生马。 那么幸运的人啊!"
To Ladybug's ears, what he said sounded like gibberish, but she at least recognized the musical yet stilted tones of Mandarin, the same language her mother sometimes spoke with relatives. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to puzzle out what he'd just said.
"Don't worry," he assured her, "I didn't say anything bad."
She shook her head. "I just wouldn't have pegged you as a Chinese speaker."
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, M'lady." He winked, forcing her to turn away to hide the blush it elicited.
Stop it, Marinette. You like Adrien. The way Chat managed to make her so self-conscious for even a moment made her uneasy. She loved Adrien, and Chat Noir was nothing like her refined classmate. Chat Noir was her partner in crime fighting, at times almost like a brother. He was also dangerously smooth and somewhat unpredictable. She could trust him with her life, but not her heart. Ladybug managed to pull herself together just enough to stride past the leather-clad boy leaning on his staff as though she were completely unfazed by his flirting.
"Let's go, Chat Noir. We still have more ground to cover before we finish our patrols."
~~~~
Chat Noir and Ladybug had finished their patrols about thirty minutes ago. Ladybug had gone home, he assumed, but still he needed a moment to get his thoughts together. Too emotionally exhausted from keeping up a cheerful pretense to even bother letting out his transformation, he slumped against the rail of a pedestrian bridge.
He'd done his best to hide it, but his heart had been thoroughly broken by their earlier conversation. He liked Ladybug--- more than liked her, if he was being completely honest with himself. If another guy was in his way, Chat would just have to outshine him. The things ladybug listed as qualities she admired about her crush were all things his civilian self embodied. If he approached her with that side of himself, he might have a chance at usurping his competition.
He didn't want to win her affections that way, though. Adrien may have been the perfect boy for Ladybug, but his persona was suffocating and stifling. The side of Adrien that came out when he was Chat Noir was his true, unadulterated self, perhaps with only a small amount of added bravado from being nearly invincible. He needed Ladybug to fall in love with the real him, not the two-dimensional cardboard cut-out he used to get through daily life. If she could appreciate him for who he was, he was sure he could make her happy. He wanted to be the one to do that for her, more than anything.
"Chat Noir?"
A familiar voice calling his name interrupted his ruminations. He looked up, expecting to see Ladybug. Instead, he found his classmate Marinette scurrying up to him with a concerned expression on her face.
"What are you doing here?" She soaked in the sight of the slouching super hero. "Are you alright?"
"I'm alright. Thanks for your concern, but I can handle myself." Chat used his signature winning smile to try to put her at ease. He didn't want to burden her with his troubles. He was sure she'd rather not listen to someone she believed to be a total stranger whine about his love life anyway.
Marinette didn't appear fooled by his act. "You're sure? you don't... It's not about Ladybug is it?"
He swallowed. She'd seen right through him. In that case, there was no point in hiding it. "You're very intuitive, Princess."
She laughed nervously. "Not really, I just..." She didn't finish whatever she was saying, leaving the silence and his imagination to fill in the rest. "Anyway, you looked a little upset, and I wanted to make sure you're okay, but since you're fine I'll just--"
"Wait." He grabbed her arm before she could run off. Paris could be dangerous at night, and he was particularly fond of Marinette. Although she was shy, she went out of her way to be kind to him at school. Sometimes they would hang out, and even though she seemed intimidated by his relative celebrity status, he knew she was funny and clever by watching the way she interacted with the rest of his classmates. He considered her a friend and he wanted to protect her. "Please, let me walk you home."
Taking a couple steps back, she removed her arm from his grasp and laughed uncomfortably. "No, really, it's fine. I live just around the corner and--"
He cut her off. He understood her reluctance. She didn't know he was the same boy she saw every day at school. She also didn't know the dangers that lurked around every corner the way he did. "I insist."
~~~
Marinette's feelings were in turmoil at the moment. After she'd parted with Chat Noir, she couldn't shake the feeling that he'd only been faking the cheerful mood he'd had for the rest of the night. Wandering around aimlessly, she had eventually found her civilian self back at the place they'd said goodbye. He was still there, looking like his whole world had come down around him. She could barely believe it was the same boy who'd been teasing her just a couple hours before. Of course, had she known he would insist on walking her home and seeing her in safely, she would have thought twice about talking to him out of costume. Thanks to him, she'd had to enter the house through the front door instead of her balcony and incur the wrath of her parents for being out past curfew. The vision of the normally playful Chat Noir slumped on a Paris sidewalk flashed back through her head. She would take the consequences if it meant she could take care of her partner.
Tikki drifted out of Marinette's bag and perched on her desk.
"He seemed a bit disappointed, but Chat Noir is resilient. This won't keep him down for long," the little red kwami attempted to console Marinette.
Marinette, lying prone on her bed, used her elbow to block out the brightness of her room. "I hope you're right," she sighed.
"I'm sure tomorrow everything will be back to normal." Tikki flicked off the light.